Mailbox Bombing Probed at U.S. Treasury Inspector General’s Home

By Robert Schmidt and Ian Katz -
Jan 3, 2013

U.S. authorities are investigating
the bombing of a mailbox at the home of the Treasury
Department’s inspector general this week.

Fairfax County, Virginia, police officers were called to
Inspector General Eric Thorson’s home in suburban Washington on
Dec. 31 after he discovered his mailbox destroyed from what
appeared to be a pipe bomb.

“An explosive device was detonated on Mr. Thorson’s
property,” said Rich Delmar, counsel to the inspector general.
“The matter is under investigation by the Fairfax County police
and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. We
are awaiting the results of those investigations.”

The ATF collected evidence from the scene, a person
familiar with the matter said. Investigators are trying to
determine if the bombing is connected to any of the inspector
general’s work, said the person, who asked to remain anonymous
because the probe is in its early stages.

Janice Kemp, a spokeswoman for the ATF, said the agency was
investigating “an incident that involved an explosive device.”
Lucy Caldwell, a spokeswoman for the Fairfax County Police
Department, said the county’s fire marshal is leading the
investigation.

Thorson was confirmed by the Senate in 2008. His office
conducts independent audits of the department and investigates
cases of waste, fraud and abuse of government resources. It
handles a number of financially related criminal cases, such as
thefts of checks issued by the Treasury.

He previously was the inspector general of the Small
Business Administration. A graduate of the U.S. Air Force
Academy, Thorson served as an Air Force pilot and was awarded
the Distinguished Flying Cross.